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Read The FIRST HALF

In the beginning, the world was not as it is today. There was no sun to provide warmth or light. There was no earth from which fruit, vegetables, or flowers could grow. There was no water to quench the thirst of the living. There was no wind to transport seeds or provide a refreshing breeze.

The Creator, Nyame, had become bored with the barren world. In an instant, and with just a thought, Nyame brought forth the sun, earth, water, and wind. Sunshine illuminated lush vegetation growing from the brilliant earth. The sounds of water flowing and breezes blowing produced a beautiful melody.

It was good. But Nyame wanted to create more. “I’ll make children to help me take care of this world,” Nyame said. In an instant, and with just a thought, Nyame brought forth four magical beings called magbees: Sunne, Earthe, Watre, and Winde.

Nyame addressed these children.

“Sunne, you are imbued with the power of the sun. For this reason, your skin is sun-darkened red and your hair grows in spirally twists toward the sun. Take care of yourself, for the sun dwells within you.”

“Earthe, you are imbued with the power of the earth. For this reason, your skin is brown and your straight hair grows toward the soil. Take care of yourself, for the earth dwells within you.”

“Watre, you are imbued with the power of water. For this reason, your skin is translucent green and your straight hair flows down your back like water. Take care of yourself, for the waters dwell within you.”

“Last, Winde, you are imbued with the power of the wind. For this reason, your skin is gray and your straight hair moves with the breeze. Take care of yourself, for the wind dwells within you.”

“You are all my children, made in my image. Love one another and treasure each others’ gifts. Goodbye and I love you all.” Nyame’s voice faded as Nyame went off to create other universes.

The four magbees were very responsible.

Sunne did a wave dance every morning and evening to make the sun rise and set.

By moving its hips in a circular motion every afternoon, Earthe put nutrients into the soil. When the soil became dry, Watre moved its fingers vigorously to summon the rain. Winde blew out gaseous gusts of air that carried seeds to new places.

In their spare time, the magbees climbed trees and played hide-and-seek. They also sang.

“Prim pra na na, prim pra na na,we are having so much fun!Prim pra na na, prim pra na na,taking care of the world for everyone.”

One day the four magbees travelled to a river. They looked down at their reflections. For the first time it occurred to them that Sunne looked different. Earthe, Winde, and Watre all had hair that lay flat and grew downward. But Sunne’s hair stood tall.

Earthe was confused about the difference and asked, “Why did Nyame give you different hair?”

Watre thought that Sunne’s hair was beautiful but did not want to feel left out, so Watre said, “Yeah, your hair is really weird!”

Sunne’s heart sank. Tears formed in Sunne’s eyes. Sunne did not want to be different, ugly, ridiculous, or weird.

Sunne picked up a stick and began to beat each spiral of hair to make it straight. With each slap Sunne’s head ached and Sunne felt weaker. But Sunne continued as Earthe, Winde, andWatre began to sing.

“You must! You must! It’s worth the fuss!Soon you will look like all of us!”

When the last spiral became straight, all of Sunne’s hair fell out. The sun disappeared and darkness descended upon the land. Sunne, Earthe, Winde, and Watre looked around in horror.